Musical Menu - Jazz Café
by azami.matsuri
Summary: Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Neji, Tenten, Sakura, Hinata, and Ino visit a well-known Jazz Café owned by their friends. A musical mini-series based on popular jazz standards. Pairings: NaruHina, SasuSaku, ShikaIno, NejiTen


**A/N**: Hello everyone! It's me again! I have not abandoned my other fanfic but I wanted to introduce a mini-series based on some of my favourite kinds of music. The first series will feature jazz music. Why I chose jazz music? Because I love it! (I can hear you smirking lol) I'm pretty open to all kinds of music as long as it doesn't hurt my ears (although I am in an electroacoustics composition course… which is another story you can look up later)

I will be basing each chapter and pairing with a jazz song title. I won't be featuring the lyrics since that's against the policy so if you're curious I suggest you google them and give them a listen! :) Occasionally I will recommend my favourite rendition and covers of some of the jazz pieces.

Alright, without further ado, here is chapter 1 with _Take_ _Five_ by Paul Desmond!

**Disclaimer**: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi

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**Musical Menu – Jazz Café**

**Chapter 1: Introduction – Take Five**

"We're here everyone!" Naruto called as he, Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata, Tenten, Neji, Ino and Shikamaru stopped outside a restaurant. The restaurant is rather sophisticated looking on the exterior with a modern yet homely architectural design. The name 'Running Waters Jazz Café' decorated in a casual cursive script emblazoned with neon lights shine brightly against the clear evening sky.

"What are we waiting for?" Ino said as the group went inside. Upon entering, the group was greeted by a warm, relaxing atmosphere along with a live jazz band. It was fairly crowded for a Thursday evening and there are many famous celebrities and well-known figures dining in every corner. The group awed

"This is a really beautiful place," Hinata commented as they walked towards the front reception. She spotted Kiba cleaning glassware and gave a wave. "Hey Kiba-kun!" Kiba looked up and smiled.

"Welcome to the Running Waters Jazz Café!" Kiba greeted as he put the glass he was cleaning on the counter. "I'm glad that you guys chose this place for your dining!"

"This is amazing!" Tenten remarked while Neji nodded in agreement, "You, Chouji, Lee, Sai and Shino are really impressive, opening up a jazz café."

"Wow, I can't believe you guys own the most famous jazz café in Konoha!" Sakura exclaimed as Kiba led them to a long table. "You only opened when? 2 months ago?" Kiba nodded and Shikamaru whistled while everyone sat down.

"That's very impressive for a jazz café." Shikamaru noted while letting out a yawn, "a nice relaxing atmosphere with an inviting surrounding…a perfect place for me to nap…" Before he could do that, he felt a heavy fist puncturing into his skull.

"Quit that will yeah?" Ino snapped as everyone laughed. "You're worse than a koala! Man even a sloth is better than a koala!" Shikamaru groaned and rolled his eyes. Meanwhile, a familiar figure came towards their table with an armful of menus.

"Welcome and I'm Sai and I will be your server today," Sai greeted as he handed everyone a menu, "Today our special is our continental soup with blue lobster. We are featuring our in-house jazz band tonight." Sai gestured towards the stage filled with a jazz ensemble playing _Take Five_. The stage is designed as the centerpiece of the restaurant but it still blends well with the rest of its surroundings.

"These musicians sound really good," Tenten commented as she received her menu, "I wonder if we can request songs…"

"Ah you can do that," Sai smiled as he handed them their menus, "You can request a song from the musicians if you want. But they have to be jazz pieces."

"This sounds complicated…" Naruto commented before receiving a whack from Sakura, "What?! I don't know that many jazz pieces…" Sasuke sighed as he flipped the menu to the last page and handed it over to Naruto.

"There is a song list at the back of the menu dobe," Sasuke sighed, "You need to stop listening to your random weird music…"

"HEY! My taste in music isn't that bad, right Hinata-chan?" Naruto suddenly asked Hinata as she began to blush furiously, "Are you okay Hinata-chan? Do you have a fever?"

"Naruto stop that!" Tenten warned him as she filled Hinata's cup with cold water, "Hinata's still not used to your random outbursts."

"Who wants to go first?" Sai patiently asked as the gang stared at each other blankly. Feeling annoyed, Sasuke decided to break the silence.

"Fine fine we'll go first," Sasuke grumbled as he scanned through the song list and found a title that caught his eye. "Alright, _In a Sentimental Mood_." Neji raised an eyebrow.

"_In a Sentimental Mood_?" Neji questioned curiously, "Are you sure about that song?" Sasuke glared at Neji.

"Yes Hyuga I know what I'm requesting," Sasuke snapped, "It's not like I randomly picked this song blindly…"

"Sasuke, calm down," Sakura patted Sasuke's back before smiling softly, "If I do recall, I think that was our first song we heard." Sai nodded patiently and turned towards the band

"Alright guys, you heard them: _In a Sentimental Mood_!" Sai called at the band. The band nodded and began to play the tune.

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**A/N**: What do you guys think? This will be an interesting format and challenge since I can't physically post the song lyrics here. I remember constantly playing the infamous opening 2-chords and getting really frustrated at the weird time signature. (really? 5/4?) I still enjoy jamming it on the piano though…

As for renditions, listen to the original first and if you google "Dave Brubeck: the legacy of 'Take Five' CBC Music", the article lists a few different versions of this jazz standard. Also Stevie Wonder's version on the harmonica is really cool! (There's a CRAZY good version played on the harp by a kid 8D)

The first chapter will feature our first couple will be Sakura and Sasuke with _In a Sentimental Mood _by Duke Ellington_._

I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and please let me know what you think about this fanfic by reviewing or messaging me!


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